Alexandria homes carry history. From Federal-period townhomes in Old Town to mid-century ramblers in Del Ray, the architecture tells you something about the neighborhood. New cabinets need to respect that while giving you the storage and functionality a modern household requires. That is exactly what we do.
McLean Custom Cabinets is a Class A Virginia contractor with 24 years of experience building custom cabinetry for homes across Northern Virginia, including many in Alexandria's historic districts. We provide free in-home consultations, 3D design renderings, and professional installation included with every project. Our lifetime warranty covers materials and construction for as long as you own the cabinets.
Alexandria is not one neighborhood. It is a collection of very different areas, each with its own housing stock and style. Old Town has 18th and 19th century rowhouses with plaster walls, uneven floors, and ceiling heights that vary room to room. Del Ray has early 20th century bungalows and Craftsman homes. Rosemont has Colonials. The West End has newer construction and townhome communities. We have built cabinets in all of them.
The challenge in older Alexandria homes is that nothing is square, level, or plumb. Walls bow, floors slope, and window openings are not where you would expect them to be. Stock cabinets cannot handle this. Custom cabinets are scribed and fitted to the actual conditions of your home, which means tight joints, clean lines, and no visible gaps even in a house that was built 200 years ago.
For homes in Alexandria's historic districts, we build cabinets that are appropriate to the period without sacrificing modern convenience. Inset doors with beaded face frames, exposed hinges, bin pulls, and turned legs are details we execute regularly. We can match an existing antique cabinet or build new cabinetry that looks like it has always been part of the home.
Different eras of Alexandria architecture call for different cabinet details. Here are three styles we build frequently for homeowners in the area.
These are the oldest homes in Alexandria, concentrated in Old Town. Cabinet details for this era include inset doors, flush face frames, simple raised-panel profiles, and minimal ornamentation. Hardware tends toward brass bin pulls, latches, and exposed butt hinges. We use traditional joinery methods where they will be visible and back them with modern construction techniques where they will not. The result is cabinetry that looks historically accurate but performs like a 21st century kitchen.
Del Ray and parts of Rosemont have a strong Craftsman influence. Cabinet design for these homes uses quarter-sawn white oak, flat or recessed panel doors, and visible wood grain rather than paint. Hardware is typically matte black or oil-rubbed bronze in simple geometric shapes. We pay attention to how the cabinets relate to existing built-in features like plate rails, window seats, and pass-throughs that are common in Craftsman interiors.
Newer construction in the West End and recent renovations throughout Alexandria often call for a cleaner look. Shaker-style doors in painted finishes, frameless European construction, and handleless designs are all popular here. We build these with the same quality construction as our traditional work. Plywood boxes, dovetail drawers, soft-close everything. The style is simpler but the build quality does not change.
Renovating an older Alexandria home involves considerations that newer homes do not have. Here are the issues we address on nearly every project in the area's established neighborhoods.
We start with an in-home visit where we measure your space, discuss your goals, and look at the specific conditions of your home. For older Alexandria properties, this initial visit is especially important because it lets us identify potential complications before they become problems. We note wall conditions, floor levelness, ceiling height variations, and the location of plumbing and electrical that will affect the cabinet layout.
From there, we create a 3D rendering that shows your new cabinets in accurate proportions. You will see the design from multiple angles and can make changes before anything is built. Once the design is approved, fabrication takes four to six weeks in our shop. Installation typically runs two to four days depending on the scope of the project.
Our shop in McLean is about 20 minutes from most Alexandria neighborhoods. That proximity means we can visit your home for measurements, check-ins, and installations without scheduling around long drives. If something needs adjustment after installation, we are close enough to handle it quickly rather than scheduling a trip from hours away.
We have also been working in Alexandria long enough to know the local permitting requirements, HOA rules in various communities, and the expectations of historic district review boards. If your project requires approval from the Board of Architectural Review in Old Town, we can provide the documentation and drawings they need. This is not our first time through that process.